The present invention is directed to compositions and methods for reducing subcutaneous fat deposits and tightening loose skin.
As the skin naturally ages, skin loosens and sags. These conditions can become exacerbated further by habitual facial expressions or sleeping patterns, as well as poor hydration. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation and tobacco smoke can also accelerate the skin's aging process. Despite such factors and the inevitability of the aging process, however, having a youthful appearance in society is highly prized, and many people have a strong desire to maintain and rejuvenate their appearance as much as they possibly can. In this regard, wrinkles, loose sagging skin, poor skin tone or texture, and other skin abnormalities are often considered to be visually unappealing and have proved to be difficult and vexing problems to treat, although the demand for effective treatments has been and remains quite high.
Among the options to treat such conditions include conventional surgical therapies (e.g., a face lift, brow lift, or liposuction), which can be effective to treat loose, fatty skin but are often invasive, inconvenient, and expensive, and resultant scarring can limit their applicability. Moreover, for small fat deposits, such those occurring with aging in some areas of the face, surgical techniques such as liposuction are often too aggressive and associated with well-known complications or risks, including temporary bruising, swelling, numbness or hypersensitivity, soreness and burning sensation, risk of infection, and pigmentation changes.
Alternative methods that are minimally invasive are also available; however, such methods are generally less effective than surgical methods. For example, methods using energy sources (e.g., laser, non-coherent light, radiofrequency, or ultrasound) or physical trauma (i.e., micro-needling, also known as collagen induction therapy) can be effective at improving the architecture and the texture of the skin but are much less effective at tightening the skin or reducing skin laxity than surgery. As a further alternative, neurotoxins, such as botulinum toxin, can reduce the formation of dynamic wrinkles by paralysis of the injected muscles, but such toxins have minimal or no effect on skin tightness or laxity. Finally, dermal fillers, such as hyaluronic acid, are injected in the dermal layer to smooth out wrinkles and improve contours, but such fillers do not tighten or reduce laxity of the skin.
As such, a need exists for more effective treatments of these conditions that overcome the deficiencies associated with known treatment options. Accordingly, it is an objective of various embodiments of the present invention to address these and other needs.